100,000 Syrians trapped between ISIS and Turkey “It is a scandal that we close our eyes to this humanitarian crisis to save a dirty deal with Turkey.”, Guy Verhofstadt

ALDE - Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

Section:

Justice & Home Affairs

Regional Policy

New reports from Human Rights Watch show that Turkish border guards have shot at Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS. Around 100.000 Syrian refugees are trapped between ISIS and the Turkish border after it was closed by Turkey.

ALDE Group leader Guy Verhofstadt calls on the Commission to react immediately following these reports. Verhofstadt: “Not only is Turkey pushing refugees back into Syria, they are opening fire on them and finishing off a wall which will totally seal the border. Refugees fleeing the barbaric ISIS are literally trapped in camps between two armed forces.

I have called on the Commission several times to investigate the accusations by several NGOs that Turkey is pushing back Syrian refugees on a massive scale. Unfortunately this has not led to any results. It is absolutely scandalous that authorities are closing their eyes to these offences, just because they are afraid of jeopardising the deal with Turkey.”

"I expect the Commission to take action. If Turkey is indeed shooting at Syrians, this deal should be suspended immediately.”